Kyle Harrison
to-read

ESPN The Company

ESPN The Company: The Story and Lessons Behind the Most Fanatical Brand in Sports
Author
Anthony F. Smith & Keith Hollihan
Published
2009
Pages
232
Recommended
Once
Buy on Amazon ↗

A management study of how ESPN grew from a scrappy Connecticut cable start-up into the dominant brand in sports media, drawn out as a set of transferable lessons about culture, talent and brand fanaticism rather than a straight narrative history.

Why it’s on the list: Appears on @mastersinvest’s 2025 reading list, a feed that skews heavily toward company and founder biography.

Where I saw it: @mastersinvest’s “2025 Reading … so far” list, August 20, 2025. The full 46-title list is transcribed on 2025 Reading So Far… (tweet).

Connections

  • 2025 Reading So Far… (tweet) — the list this came from.